The $8-million to $10-million project, inked last year, is funded through state grants, Swedish federal dollars and private investment.

"That investment will grow as we find other uses for the biogas," Moffett said.

The first phase of the project is to take human waste and convert it to biogas at the city's wastewater treatment plant in Flint Township. The biogas will be used to heat the facility, which will save on utility costs.

An engineering firm will be hired that will complete construction needed to get the plant going. Swedish Biogas is hiring a lead engineer from Sweden who will relocate to Flint to work on the project, Moffett said.

"We're making progress and things are moving along and we're anxious to get going," he said.

The project's second phase aims to upgrade biogas into biomethane to be used to fuel city vehicles or possibly Mass Transportation Authority busses.

That process has worked in Linkoping, Sweden, for years. More than 1,000 vehicles such as city buses and taxis are powered by biomethane there.

Initially, Flint's biogas project mainly will use city workers from the wastewater treatment plant. But if the second phase grows, more jobs will be added, officials said.